Tip 89. Basic, health-giving foods.
The basic
h
ealth-giving foods are all of plant ori
g
in: seeds a
n
d nuts, vegetables, and
f
ruit. They should be supplemented with certain special f
o
ods
such
a
s milk, vegetable oils
an
d honey.
Milk is an excellent food.
It is co
n
s
id
e
red as " Nature's most nearly perfect food." The best way
to take milk is in its sou
r
ed form - that is, yoghurt and cotta
g
e cheese.
S
oured milk is superior
to sweet milk as it
is in a pre-digest
e
d form
and more easily assimilated.
Milk helps maintain a healthy intestinal flora
a
nd prevents intestinal p
u
trefaction a
n
d constipa
t
ion.
High quality unrefined oils should be
added to the diet. They are rich in u
n
saturated fa
t
ty acids, vitamin C a
n
d F and leci
t
hin. The average daily amount should not exceed two tablespoons. Honey too is an ideal fo
o
d. It helps i
n
crease calcium retention in the syst
e
m, prevents
nutritional
a
naemia besides being
b
eneficial
in kidney and liver disorders,
colds, poor circula
t
ion
a
nd complexion problems. It is one of
the nature's
finest ener
gy
-giving food.
A diet of the three basic
food groups,
supplemented with the special
f
oo
d
s, mentioned above, will ensure a complete and adequate supply of all the vital nutrients need
e
d for health,
vitality and prevention of diseases. It is n
o
t
necessary
t
o
include a
n
imal protein like egg,
f
ish or meat
in this b
a
sic
diet, as animal protein, especially meat, always has a detrimental effect
on the healing process. A high
animal protein is harmful to health a
n
d may cause many of
o
ur common ailments.
Tip 90. Get the protein-po
w
er of
m
eat
w
hile
e
ating a vegetarian diet
b
y
combin
i
ng plant foods.
When purs
u
ing a vegetarian diet, c
o
mbine plant foods for maxim
u
m prot
e
in.
Wheat, which has a deficiency in the amino-acid lysine but
a
n abundance of sulphur containing
am
ino-acids,
can be combined with
b
eans which
have the opposite enrichment combination. Taken tog
e
ther, they complement
e
ach other to
form a com
p
lete protein.
As regards
t
he adequacy of B12 nutrition, lac
t
o-ovo vegetar
i
ans and lac
t
o-vegetarians should not feel co
n
c
erned on t
h
is score,
as
the B12 needs can be
e
asily suppli
e
d by dairy products
and eggs. A
quarter litre of milk or
1
00 grams of cheese or 1
egg per day will supply
t
he recommen
d
ed daily all
o
wance. This vitamin once eaten is s
t
ored in the liver.
Vegans, however, do
n
ot get this vitamin in their food, yet reliable scie
n
tific s
t
udies
have found
no evidence of B12 deficiency diseases. It is t
h
erefore, pres
u
med that this vitamin can be synthesised
in the body.
Tip 91. For good health, do not be an epicure.
Simple mea
l
s in every way are more
conducive
t
o health, th
a
n more elaborate ones, no matter how well they may be c
o
mbined.
An important point to r
e
member a
b
out meals is that the smaller the n
u
mber of courses they consist
of,
t
he better it
will be. They should app
r
oximate to a
one-course
meal as m
u
ch as possible.
The content
of this one course? Pla
n
t foods! A vegetarian diet
can have many nutritional benefits, if
it
is rich
in fr
u
its and vegetables, and
contains m
o
derate amounts of see
d
s, nuts, whole grains and legumes. One of the main benefits of a pr
o
per vegetarian diet is
its
low caloric
con
t
ent in relati
o
n to the bulk supplied,
w
hich helps
maintain ideal weight.
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